Why should companies adapt their marketing during the Holiday Season ?
The Holiday Season represents, especially in the US, the period of time from Thanksgiving until New Year which includes Christmas. This season also exists in other Western countries but Thanksgiving is not part of it.
Christmas has a very important place in Western countries because of their former and current history with Christianism ー Christmas being the birthday of Jesus Christ. Even though Christianism is less predominant in these countries today, Christmas still is a crucial event for almost everyone, Christian or not.
Besides, It’s a major season for companies because, as people buy presents for their loved ones but also for themselves, it’s a period of high demand and consumption. Only in the UK and for Christmas, the amount of spendings reached £75.46 billion in 2016.
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| Spendings in European countries for Chritsmas, 2016 |
For all the above reasons, it’s vital for companies to adapt their marketing strategy to this season. It’s a way to stand out from competition and to adapt to what consumers need at the moment in order to gain market share.
How do companies adapt their marketing during the Holiday Season ?
Usually, most companies start their Holiday Season marketing in late October and make it more and more predominant, especially around Black Friday, a period of sales.
Companies carry out Holiday marketing in their outlets. During this period Christmas decorations in every shop front are highlighting the streets.
Besides, most firms create new products every year for this specific period. Products like bundles are greatly appreciated by Westerners because they are perfectly suitable as Christmas presents. Advent calendars also are popular not only in the chocolate industry but in other industries too. Of course, Christmas-themed products (special colors and patterns) are well-liked by most people.
Nevertheless, online Holiday marketing is equally if not more important for companies. It can be conducted on social media with the publication of the products as well as the promotions and discounts peculiar to this season. In addition, Christmas contests and partnerships with influencers can boost the visibility of the brands which will be beneficial for them in the long term. Email marketing can prove useful for a brand's current customers because the company knows what they bought in the past and can draw their attention to similar products with this season's discounts.
Websites are the e-commerce shop front therefore, as the physical shop fronts, they are decorated for the Holiday Season. It translates online by decorations around the brand's logo, parts of the home page dedicated to Christlas products, a Christmas category with gift guides (gifts for her, gifts for him, gifts for kids) and sometimes even a Black Friday category. After Christmas, products for New Year's Eve are often put forward such as nice dresses and outfits for clothing brands or dazzling makeup products for cosmetic brands.
The example of the brand "Printemps"
A focus on the clothing industry can be made because these products are part of the most demanded ones during the Holiday Season.
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Most important retail categories during Christmas Holiday, 2021
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Therefore, the study of the brand "Printemps" can help understand what changes are made by companies which want to maximize their sales during the Holiday Season.
Printemps is a French brand created in 1865 that resells products from famous luxury, clothing and beauty brands. Their flagship store is the one located on Haussmann boulevard and is a perfect example of how much companies invest in the decorations during the Holiday Season. The outside is completely decorated with lights, the interior is decorated as well ー the store is especially renowned for its beautiful shop windows.
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Printemps Haussmann store in Paris, 2010
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| Une des vitrines du Printemps, 2022 |
On their website, we can see some of the features described earlier. For instance, they have a special category for the Black Friday with "women", "men", "beauty" and one for Christmas with gift guides. Moreover, on the home page there is also a gift guide as well as the current promotions. However, Printemps doesn't really offer Christmas-themed products but they offer Christmas experiences.
To conclude, it is crucial for companies to adapt their marketing during the Holiday Season because they can gain a lot of money and market share during this high-consumption period. Most companies are adapting well to these Western countries' cultural aspects by changing their physical and online image in order to attract as many customers as possible, current or new.
717 words
Written by Natacha S.
Bibliography :
Oxford Languages, definition of “Holiday Season”, consulted in November 2022 :
https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/
World economic forum, “Which European country spends the most on Christmas”, December 2016, consulted in November 2022 :
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/12/which-european-country-spends-the-most-on-christmas/
Finances online, “57 essential Christmas shopping statistics : 2021/2022 market share analysis & data”, Astrid Eira, November 2022, consulted in November 2022 :
https://financesonline.com/christmas-shopping-statistics/
France Bleu, “Visitez l’arrière des vitrines de Noël du Printemps Haussmann”, November 2020, consulted in November 2022 :
https://www.francebleu.fr/emissions/acces-prive/107-1/visitez-l-arriere-des-vitrines-de-noel-du-printemps-haussmann
Instagram,“Printemps”, consulted in November 2022 :
https://www.instagram.com/printemps/?hl=fr
MiLady Pro, “Holiday Marketing Guide For Beauty Professionals”, consulted in November 2022 :
https://www.miladypro.com/home/p/holiday-marketing-guide-for-beauty-pros
Woobox, “9 Holiday Marketing Strategies for beauty and cosmetic brands”, Danielle Antosz, consulted in November 2022 :
https://blog.woobox.com/2021/10/9-holiday-marketing-strategies-for-beauty-and-cosmetic-brands/
Printemps website, consulted in November 2022 :
https://www.printemps.com/fr/fr
Wikipédia, “Printemps (grands magasins)”, November 2022, consulted in November 2022 :
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printemps_(grands_magasins)
Hello Natacha, in your article, you mention marketing during the holidays and especially Christmas. But don't you think that some businesses are losing their corporate culture and brand image due to this marketing strategy?
ReplyDeleteFor example, IKEA decided to sell Christmas trees for the Christmas holidays. But IKEA was originally known as a furniture manufacturer. In addition, some grocery stores like Lidl have also chosen to pursue this path by selling Christmas trees to consumers.
But would it be a wise choice for the brand image of the company that seeks to diversify during this period to develop a marketing strategy?
Today, consumers are accustomed to buying their trees at a garden center and may not take the risk of trusting a food store to buy a Christmas tree.
Zoe L.
bibliography
https://mcetv.ouest-france.fr/decouvertes/mon-mag-lifestyle/lidl-concurrence-ikea-et-met-en-vente-ses-propres-sapins-pour-noel-22112022/
I am iSoftHint _ Amazing Blog :)
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